A
P T C Christopher Alexander
A O O Sara Ishikawa, Murray Silverstein
T W N with
T N S Max Jacobson, Ingrid Fiksdahl-KingShlomo Angel
E S T
R R NEW YORK OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS 1977
N U
C
L B T
A U I
N I O
G L N
U D
A I
G N
E G
A PATTERN LANGUAGE
TOWNS • BUILDINGS • CONSTRUCTION
SUMMARY OF THE LANGUAGE
A pattern language has the structure of a network. This Since the language is in truth a network, there is no
is explained fully in The Timeless Way of Building. one sequence which perfectly captures it. But the se
However, when we use the network of a language, we quence which follows, captures the broad sweep of the
always use it as a sequence) going through the patterns, full network; in doing so, it follows a line, dips down,
moving always from the larger patterns to the smaller, dips up again, and follows an irregular course, a little
always from the ones which create structures, to the ones like a needle following a tapestry.
which then embellish those structures, and then to those
which embellish the embellishments ....
The sequence of patterns is both a summary of the And finally, as we shall explain in the next section,
language, and at the same time, an index to the patterns. this sequence of patterns is also the "base map," from
If you read through the sentences which connect the which you can make a language for your own project,
groups of patterns to one another, you will get an over by choosing the patterns which are most useful to you,
view of the whole language. And once you get this over and leaving them more or less in the order that you
view, you will then be able to find the patterns which find them printed here.
are relevant to your own project.
+ + +
We begin with that part of the language which defines
a town or community. These patterns can never be "de
signed" or "built" in one fell swoop-but patient piece
meal growth, designed in such a way that every indi
vidual act is always helping to create or generate these
larger global patterns, will, slowly and surely, over the
years, make a community that has these global patterns
in it.
I. INDEPENDENT REGIONS
within each region work toward those regional policies
which will protect the land and mark the limits of the
cities;
2. THE DISTRIBUTION OF TOWNS
3· CITY COUNTRY FINGERS
4· AGRICULTURAL VALLEYS
5· LACE OF COUNTRY STREETS
6. COUNTRY TOWNS
7· THE COUNTRYSIDE
through city policies, encourage the piecemeal forma
tion of those major structures which define the city;
8. MOSAIC OF SUBCULTURES
9, SCATTERED WORK
10. MAGIC OF THE CITY
I I. LOCAL TRANSPORT AREAS
build up these larger city patterns from the grass roots,
through action essentially controlled by two levels of
self-governing communities, which exist as physically
identifiable places;
12. COMMUNITY OF 7(XX)
IJ. SUBCULTURE BOUNDARY
14. IDENTIFIABLE NEIGHBORHOOD
15. NEIGHBORHOOD BOUNDARY
connect communities to one another by encouraging the
growth of the following networks;
16. WEB OF PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION
17. RING ROADS
I 8. NETWORK OF LEARNING
19. WEB OF SHOPPING
20, MINI-BUSES
establish community and neighborhood policy to con
trol the character of the local environment according to
the following fundamental principles;
21. FOUR-STORY LIMIT
22.
NINE PER
CENT PARKING
23.
PARALLEL ROADS
24.
SACRED SITES
25.
ACCESS TO WATER
26.
LIFE CYCLE
27.
MEN AND WOMEN
both in the neighborhoods and the communities, and m
between them, in the boundaries, encourage the forma
tion of local centers;
28.
ECCENTRIC NUCLEUS
29.
DENSITY RINGS
30.
ACTIVITY NODES
JI.
PROMENADE
32.
SHOPPING STREET
33.
NIGHT LIFE
34. INTERCHANGE
around these centers, provide for the growth of housing
in the form of clusters, based on face-to-face human
groups;
35· HOUSEHOLD MIX
36. DEGREES OF PUBLICNESS
37· HOUSE CLUSTER
J8. ROW HOUSES
39· HOUSING HILL
40. OLD PEOPLE EVERYWHERE
between the house clusters, around the centers, and
especially in the boundaries between neighborhoods, en
courage the formation of work communities;
4I. WORK COMMUNITY
42. INDUSTRIAL RIBBON
43· UNIVERSITY AS A MARKETPLACE
44. LOCAL TOWN HALL
45. NECKLACE OF COMMUNITY PROJECTS
46. MARKET OF MANY SHOPS
47· HEALTH CENTER
48. HOUSING IN BETWEEN
between the house clusters and work communities, allow
the local road and path network to grow informally,
piecemeal;
49.
LOOPED LOCAL ROADS
50.
T JUNCTIONS
51.
GREEN STREETS
52.
NETWORK OF PATHS
AND CARS
53.
MAIN GATEWAYS
5 4. ROAD CROSS! NC
5 5. RAISED WALK
56. BIKE PATHS AND RACKS
57· CHILDREN IN THE CITY
in the communities and neighborhoods, provide public
open land where people can relax, rub shoulders and
renew themselves;
58.
CARNIVAL
59.
in each house cluster and work community, provide the
smaller bits of common land, to provide for local ver
sions of the same needs;
67.
COMMON LAND
68.
CONNECTED PLAY
69.
PUBLIC OUTDOOR
ROOM
70.
GRAVE SITES
7 I.
STILL WATER
72.
LOCAL SPORTS
74.
QUIET BACKS
60.
ACCESS I BLE GREEN
61.
SMALL PUBLIC
SQUARES
62.
HIGH PLACES
63.
DANCING IN THE
STREET
64.
POOLS AND STREAMS
65.
BIRTH PLACES
66.
HOLY GROUND
ADVENTURE
PLAYGROUND
ANIMALS
within the framework of the common land, the clusters,
and the work communities encourage transformation of
the smallest independent social institutions: the families,
workgroups, and gathering places. The family, in all its
forms;
75.
THE FAMILY
76.
HOUSE
FOR A SMALL FAMILY
77.
HOUSE FOR A COUPLE
78.
HOUSE FOR ONE PERSON
79.
YOUR OWN HOME
the workgroups, including all kinds of workshops and
offices and even children's learning groups;
80. SELF-GOVERNING WORKSHOPS
AND OFFICES
8 I. SMALL SERVICES WITHOUT RED TAPE
82. OFFICE CONNECTIONS
83. MASTER AND APPRENTICES
84. TEENAGE SOCIETY
85. SHOPFRONT SCHOOLS
86. CHILDREN'S HOME
the local shops and gathering places.
87. INDIVIDUALLY OWNED SHOPS
88. STREET CAFE
89. CORNER GROCERY
90. BEER HALL
91. TRAVELER'S LNN
92. BUS STOP
This completes the global patterns which define a
town or a community. We now start that part of the
language which gives shape to groups of buildings, and
individual buildings, on the land, in three dimensions.
These are the patterns which can be "designed" or
"built"-the patterns which define the individual build
ings and the space between buildings; where we are deal
ing for the first time with patterns that are under the
control of individuals or small groups of individuals,
who are able to build the patterns all at once.
The first group of patterns helps to lay out the overall
arrangement of a group of buildings: the height and
number of these buildings, the entrances to the site, main
parking areas, and lines of movement through the com
plex;
95.
BUILDING COMPLEX
96.
NUMBER OF STORIES
97.
SHIELDED PARKING
98.
CIRCULATION REALMS
99.
MAIN BUILDING
100. PEDESTRIAN STREET
IOI.
BUILDING THOROUGHFARE
102. FAMILY OF ENTRANCES
103.
SMALL PARKING LOTS
fix the position of individual buildings on the site, within
the complex, one by one, according to the nature of the
site, the trees, the sun: this is one of the most important
moments in the language;
104. SITE REPAIR
105. SOUTH FACING OUTDOORS
106. POSITIVE OUTDOOR SPACE
107. WINGS OF LIGHT
108. CONNECTED BUILDINGS
109. LONG THIN HOUSE
within the buildings' wings, lay out the entrances, the
gardens, courtyards, roofs, and terraces: shape both the
volume of the buildings and the volume of the space be
tween the buildings at the same time-remembering
that indoor space and outdoor space, yin and yang, must
always get their shape together;